Mahindra Racing bags first Formula E podium in Beijing

Mahindra Racing registered their first podium finish at the Beijing race of the Formula E Series. Nick Heidfeld finished third, representing the only Indian team on the grid, in the 10-team FIA Formula E Championship.

Mahindra Racing had a strong start to the weekend with Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna qualifying P3 and P7 respectively. While the on track performance of the Mahindra’s M2Electro car was strong, the team messed up the pit stop, which saw both drivers losing positions.

Nick rejoined the race in fourth position, while Bruno tumbled down to P13 after extra time in the pits. Nico Prost retired from P4 after a broken rear wing, handing the podium position to the German drver towards the end of the race.

Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal of Mahindra Racing Formula E Team said: “I don’t quite have the words to describe what the first podium means to the team and to Mahindra. The performance of both cars in qualifying and Nick’s final result (the fastest team behind Renault) shows that the approach we took to developing the M2Electro powertrain was the right one.

"The car has been reliable and consistent since testing and we now know we also have a package that can compete in both qualifying and race trim. We must congratulate ourselves but we must build on this success in the next race. We could potentially have finished even higher. We have a great car and now we need to aim for consistent race performance.”